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Switching gears

Author: Diana Price

Sue Friedman was 33 years old
and working as a veterinarian in south
Florida when she was diagnosed with
breast cancer in 1996. The diagnosis
was the result of a precautionary mammogram
she underwent before trying to
get pregnant with her second child. The
journey that followed—which would ultimately
include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation,
genetic testing, and a prophylactic
oophorectomy and hysterectomy—transformed
Sue’s life physically, emotionally,
and professionally.

As she faced the many challenges related
to her diagnosis—including treatment
options, fertility, reconstruction choices,
and genetic testing—she realized how few
resources were available to women who,
like her, were at a higher risk of breast
and ovarian cancer as a result of a genetic
predisposition. When she completed her
own treatment, Sue knew she wanted to
help fill that gap—to offer women the
resources she had been seeking herself.

In 1999 she founded Facing Our Risk of
Cancer Empowered (FORCE) as “a safe
environment for high-risk people to communicate
and get the support they need.”
Though she initially continued her veterinary
career, which she loved, Sue found
her life increasingly directed toward her
work with FORCE. She left her veterinary
practice in 2003 and has been devoted
full-time to the organization ever since.

“This has been the most all-encompassing
thing in my life,” she says. “I never would
have imagined when I went into vet medicine
that a health issue would end up dictating
where I lived and what I’d be doing
for a living. I’ve gone from veterinarian to
patient advocate to speaker to conference
planner to author, which is very exciting.
It has absolutely changed my life.”

Cancer as a catalyst for change

Like Sue, many cancer patients find that
their experience with cancer sets them
on a different path. Whether it’s a career
change, an emotional shift, a spiritual
awakening, or new intentions for their
physical health, patients often have a desire
to chart a new course.

Rabbi Eric Weiss, president and
chief executive officer of the Bay Area
Jewish Healing Center in San Francisco,
California, says that a cancer diagnosis
can inspire a journey of self-discovery that leads people to reevaluate many aspects of
their lives. “The self-reflective experience
[inspired by a diagnosis] causes people to
think about a whole variety of things in
the context of their relationship to others
in their life and in relationship to the ways
in which they go about their daily life.
That can be something as basic as their
diet or the way they handle stress or even
the way they earn a living.”

Often patients are prompted to evaluate
their lives in this way by the inevitable
consideration of their own mortality,
Rabbi Weiss says. “Patients may feel that
time is now limited, at least potentially limited,
and I want to make use of what I can
do for the time I potentially have.” In that
context, he says, they may feel the need to
make changes in family life, relationships,
spirituality, and other major aspects of
their lives.

For non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor
Jeanette Greene, facing the thought of
her own mortality and the impact of the
disease on her family did prompt a new
consideration of her faith. “I remember
thinking, Wow! I could die tomorrow, and
I have two kids,” she says of her reaction to
her diagnosis, “and I realized that I wasn’t
where I needed to be in my faith.”

Having recently reconnected with her
church, Jeanette made the decision to be
baptized shortly before her first round of
treatment. The decision to embrace her
faith, she says, not only helped her cope
with treatment but brought her many
blessings throughout her journey: she
found the emotional strength she needed
through her renewed faith and her church
community; she was offered a job that
fit her needs and provided more income
for her family; and she has been happy to
see her husband grow in his faith, as well. “How I’ve gotten through this,” she says,
“is through God.”

Transition tools

It’s clear that a diagnosis can prompt
patients to consider some big questions
about their lives and, in some cases, to
make changes. But it’s not always easy to
consider and carry out such changes. In
what Rabbi Weiss describes as the “foreign
territory” of life after a diagnosis, patients
can find the experience of coming
to terms with these major issues daunting.
For many patients, seeking support and
guidance during this time can be invaluable.

“We all need help through these processes,”
which, Rabbi Weiss says, could
come from a professional therapist, a support
group, a member of the clergy, or a
good friend. And, he notes, it’s not just
the person considering these major issues
who needs support but the caregiver as
well. In fact, caregivers can benefit from
seeking counseling and support throughout
their loved one’s illness.

Ultimately, each person diagnosed
with cancer will find that the experience
generates a unique response and set of
questions, which may or may not result
in a change of his or her life’s course. In
the same way, there is no right way to approach
these changes and no clear direction
on which route to take. Instead, what
is important to remember when considering
these issues, Rabbi Weiss says, is
that every journey is different. There are
principles to consider, but there is no one
answer.